Alicante Off The Beaten Path

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Without a doubt the lovely fishing village of ALTEA is one of the most beautiful towns along the Costa Blanca. I absolutely loved it here and we stayed a couple of hours, just exploring and walking along its wonderful promenade along the beach. Along the Yacht Harbor you will find the beaches of Pueblo Macaret.
The most attractive area around Altea is its harbour area with many bars and restaurants. It was a beautiful sunny day and tourists were in abundance.
The mountain area of Sierra de Bernia ( photo 4 )which reaches up to 1130 metres high, can be seen from Altea.
Just south of Calpe, Altea can be reached using the A-7 highway or the N-332 national road.

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There are some nice excursions not far from the city to enjoy the fresh air. The Pantano de Tibi (Tibi reservoir) is one of the places I recommend.

You can take highway A7 to the north, as though going to Alcoy or Ibi. Leave the highway at the first petrol station, near mount Maigmo. You can park the car there or follow the road that leads to the Pantano. Some signs indicate the way, you won't miss it. If you go by car, after some 4 km there is a fence on the road so you have to stop there and walk. Following the road you will arrive to a couple of bridges. The first one was built in the reign of Carlos IV in 1795 as a stone plaque indicates. From that point you see the wall of the dam, built between two pics: Mos del Bou on your left, La Cresta on your right.

A narrow corridor on the right goes to the foot of the dam. From that point you can go up to the dam to see the reservoir, since there is a stair sculpted on the rock. There are iron handrails all along the way, so that you can feel safe. Before you notice, you will arrive to the top, which is wide enough, you won't feel scared. From there you can see the reservoir and the valley of the Monnegre river on the opposite direction.

From the dam, we went back to the road crossing the Mos del Bou. There is a path, the way is not difficult but a bit steep.

There is also a path that links the reservoir with Tibi.

The dam of the reservoir of Tibi, the oldest in Europe, was built during the XVI century and it is still in use.

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The highlight of our tour of the Peninsula, was a pleasant surprise, as we just followed the brown sign which said CAP DE SANT ANTONI.
What we saw there was a magnificent view of the mountains and sea.
A plaque there read:
"This look-out point is situated at Las Planes 160 m above sea level. The Cap de Sant Antoni is created by the prolongations of the western mass of the Montgo Mountain to the seas. The north precipice known as "Tramontana" is extremely steep, vertically carves, with areas of sheer drops, however on the south or midday side of the mountain becomes softer and far less dramatic.
A short time after the Christian conquest of these lands, which took place in the middle of the XII century, the Cap de Sant Antoni became one of the chosen places for hermits, men and women with profound religious convictions, wanting to lead solitary lives of prayer, following the example of the partriarch Saint Anthony. In honour of this saint, a chapel was built in the XVI century. Owing to the necessity of protecting the coast line from North African pirate raids, a look-out tower was constructed near the Chapel to house coast guards. The tower was demolished in 1894, when the present lighthouse was constructed."

The Canelobre caves you can see the fantastic shapes and forms sculpted in the rocks by water, patience and time. The extraordinary height and the unique conditions of the cave create exceptional acoustics, like a Gothic cathedral, which can even be used for music conserts.
Located just outside of Busot (Alicante).

Astounding excavation of a pre-Christian city. Also host to the Alicante jazz festival. A visit will supply you with plenty to think about for a long time. This is civilization at its most elementary level. You can see the foundations of walls, buildings, you can see 2000 year old cisterns, and signs show you what it was like in those times. There is a Roman forum and the steam baths are particularly interesting. They appear to have led comfortable lives without the trappings of the modern times. In addition, there is a garden section with indigenous plants and descriptions on how they were used.

Lucentum is located in Albufereta, on the south side of Playa San Juan, and north of Alicante. The tram stop is Lucentum.

Alicante city actually has what is surely one of the best beach in this neck of the woods, yet it is scarsely ever visited except by those who live in the city. This makes it a true gem during the weekday (except during the mid afternoon) as it's always quiet. Add to the fact it's absolutely massive by anyones standards, and you cant but wonder why the city isn't more popular with the package tourists from northern europe.

The one drawback is as a consequence of not being so busy, it also doesn't have all the cafes and bars lining it purveying cold drinks that others do. Be sure to put your towl towards the Puerta Del Mar end by the marina where there's a promenade nearby with shops. You can also head up intot he old town in search of cheaper supplies and shade too. But what a beach, spotlessly clean, broad and sandy. To get there it's an easy walk, or take any bus headed to Puerta Del Mar, or the tram.

Another beach worth checking out if you want more is the whole stretch of San Juan. Further out of town but with way less traffic (it's off the main road which is the centre beachs' biggest drawback) the beaches here literally run for miles, and have the tram hugging them most of the way they are easy to get to and from, and also have some nice little cafes along the length selling reasonable priced drinks and donuts, dont forget the nice donuts! And so uncrowded:)

Alicante still has an Old City. ANd it isn't hard to find, if you know where to go. You will find some beautiful architecture, both in the old "Spanish colonial" style, and also some fantastic municipal buildings, as well as shops with a lot of the original fittings, paticular farmacias and some todo 100 shops that simply havn't had hte previous fixtures removed. The streets in this part of town are generally quiet as quite a few buidlgs are empty, pending a massive restoration effort that has been a long time in not quite coming. This isn't entirely a bad thing as it gives a much more genuine feel of what the city would have once been like, rather than being picture poistcard perfect with fresh paint and overpriced boutiques a lot of it really is as it was, just quieter now. A lot of the city's Moroccan and Algerian community live here as rooms can be had cheaply, most Spanish people prefer new apartments with all the mod cons. There are no specific sights, just wlak around and soak it all in. Bring a camera, but make sure you take time to look and just *be there*, as well as snap away.

THe old town is best explored by walking up away from the sea from Purta Del Mar FGV station then heading Diagonially across towards La Rambla and the bus station. Youll find lots of cafes and plazas to stop at if you fancy a coffee or cold drink. Prices here are reasonable too. Enjoy it before they "restore" it.

The main beach in Alicante, Playa del Postiguet can get really busy and jam packed with bodies. If you want more room on an equally nice beach then catch one of the FGV trains to a beach further up the coast. It costs just 1Euro to get to Playa de San Juan, the trains are air conditioned and run roughly every 10minutes. They leave from either end of Playa del Postiguet. The FGV trains run as far up the coast as Denia where ferries leave to the Balearic Islands, this journey takes about 2.5hrs. You can get to Benidorm for about 3Euros and Calpe for 4Euros which would make great days out from Alicante.